University of New Orleans basketball player James White, who played for UAB during the 2023-2024 season, is a central figure in the latest gambling incident to shake the college basketball world.

According to Jeff Goodman, a college basketball journalist at The Field of 68, White and three of his teammates have been held out of play for the last month as the school and the NCAA conduct investigations into unspecified betting violations. Goodman’s report was later confirmed by ESPN and Louisiana-based television station WAFB.

The New Orleans men’s basketball team has held out four of its top five scorers since a Jan. 27 loss to UIW due to an investigation into sports gambling, sources told @TheFieldOf68.

Leading scorer James White (19.2 ppg), Jah Short (9.2 ppg), Dae Dae Hunter (8.2 ppg) and Jamond…

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 26, 2025

New Orleans is 4-25 on the season and sports a 2-16 record in Southland Conference play. The Privateers have lost eight consecutive games since the four players were suspended after a January 27th loss to Incarnate Word.

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White, a Conyers, Georgia native, began his college basketball career at Ole Miss in 2021. After spending two seasons in Oxford and averaging 3.3 points per game, he transferred to UAB to play for head coach Andy Kennedy, who recruited him out of high school. White appeared in seven games for the Blazers, making three starts before leaving Birmingham for personal reasons in December 2023.

White signed with New Orleans last offseason and immediately made an impact, turning in a 31-point performance against Tulane and a 26-point performance against Robert Morris during his first month with the team. The Privateers’ leading scorer, he was averaging 19.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game at the time of his suspension.

In a Wednesday press conference held to introduce rapper Master P as the program’s new president of basketball operations, New Orleans interim athletic director Vince Granito confirmed the players were benched because of “an internal investigation for team rule violations,” but he offered no further information as to the nature of the violations.

“I can tell you that, in late January, we had to suspend four players due to some information that was given to us,” Granito said. “Because they broke a team rule, we had to suspend them. They’ve been suspended for a month already. This is not ‘new’ news.”

“They will be available again once the investigation is over, but at this point, it’s not. When you have a situation, you have to report it to the NCAA, and it’s up to them to move forward.”

UNO interim AD Vince Granito addresses the allegations of the sports gambling investigation against 4 UNO men’s basketball players. He says it’s currently an internal investigation. @wdsu pic.twitter.com/V3DaVoGgFf

— Sharief Ishaq (@ShariefWDSU) February 26, 2025

Granito said the investigation solely revolves around the suspended players and implicates no other members of the program.

UNO head coach Stacy Hollowell also made an appearance at the press conference, but he offered no comment on the matter.

New Orleans becomes the fifth Division 1 men’s college basketball team to undergo a gambling investigation this season. In February, an ESPN report revealed that the betting ring connected to disgraced former NBA player Jontay Porter also placed large wagers on games involving Eastern Michigan, Mississippi Valley State, and North Carolina A&T. Last week, the Fresno Bee reported that Fresno State had suspended two players and kicked one player off its team for betting violations.

These developments coincide with the ongoing case against former Temple guard Hysier Miller, who is under federal investigation for his involvement in suspicious betting activity surrounding a UAB-Temple game last March.